Well, that’s a hell of a way to end a series.
The bulk of this episode is actually a retelling, serving to answer the question we had last week: what the hell got into Rachel. The answer is Rachel. In a fairly ingenious sequence, we see a large number of scenes from past episodes, but from Rachel’s point of view with her voice-over narration. We see how she entered the Tower, but wasn’t really an Irregular in her own right, just an also-ran with Bam. She wasn’t called, he was. Headon identifies that she’s lying (possibly even to herself) about her motivation: she doesn’t want to see the stars, she wants to be one. The rabbit monster ultimately gives her a special test: Kill Bam. Do this and she’ll be allowed to climb the Tower. He also gives her a weapon – the big red dude who would act both as her bodyguard, and as an extra life (hence why the stab didn’t get her, but did vanish him).
From this, we see most of the scenes
between Rachel and Bam again, at least in part, with Rachel revealing
her inner thoughts, a dark mixture of self-hatred, grief, and envy.
She struggles with her burning, almost unfathomable need to climb the
Tower, her regret over what she has done and will do to Bam, and her
growing hatred, for lack of a better term, that he has and is
everything she wants or wants to be. In the teary scene after her
stabbing, she’s screaming inside for him to run away, or the outcome
is inevitable.
And then we come to the present. She
shoved him into the depths, reports that they were attacked by the
Bull, and is determined (with the others) to have been passed, with
Bam declared dead, body not found. Hatz, Rak, and the others decide
that, owing a debt to Bam, they’ll carry Rachel with them as they
climb the tower. Khun, though, seems to be onto her. On the other
side, Bam awakens in a deep cavern, confronted by the mysterious
redhead. He realizes how he was betrayed, and she offers to train
him so that he can climb the tower and get answers. For his own
reasons, he agrees. Bam and Rachel are both headed onward and
upward, but in very different circumstances.
Add into this the intrigue of the
Rankers. The lead ranker seems to have manipulated the whole
situation in order to make the princesses of Jahad believe that Bam
is dead, suggesting (especially given Bam’s place as a dangerous
Irregular) that he might be somewhat against the order. His juniors
are out of their jobs, and back on the climb, looking for
enlightenment. All around, its evident that the real story is just
beginning.
Which is ironic, because the show’s
over. There probably wasn’t a better way or place to cut, but I’m
weirdly more interested in the next episode of Tower of God now than
I was after any of the episodes where the next one was coming next
week. There are worse distinctions for a show, but for all that’s
happened it feels like we’ve seen mostly the prologue.
In some ways, this also explains, and
even partially excuses, the weaknesses of the show so far. Bam
doesn’t evolve a lot during Tower of God, but here at the end he’s
hit with what could be a huge turning point. His growth from here
would be potentially very interesting. Even if he still refuses to
grow past Rachel, the fact that it would be a choice in the face of
bald-faced betrayal rather than a weird mystical leaving behind would
be more interesting. Plus, the way the forces within the tower are
playing off against each other is just starting to heat up.
But, for the season we’ve got? Even
being blatantly unfinished, it does end at something of an emotional
climax, and with the floor cleared certainly at a technical arc
break, so I can’t say it’s a bad ending. And the show as a whole
was… solid. It displays a lot of creativity and wonder,
introducing the audience to a fantasy universe that’s probably unlike
any other fantasy universe that the viewer would have seen in the
past. It’s full of strange creatures, strange magic, and characters
with endearing humanity. It has some action, which is decent, some
surprisingly effective intrigue, and even a little comedy now and
again. Not every scene or every moment works perfectly, but as a
package, I can say it’s at least good enough.
All in all, I give Tower of God a B+,
and would certainly be looking forward to more.